Roddick gets third consecutive title at the Queen's Club

Andy Roddick has been unbeatable at Queen's, the quaint west London club that hosts the most famous warm-up for Wimbledon.

Roddick won his third consecutive title at Queens on Sunday, defeating Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) in the American's last warm-up before the famous fortnight on grass. Only former Wimbledon champions John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt have managed the feat.

Roddick came close the last two years at Wimbledon, losing in the finals last season and the semifinals in 2003 -- both times to Roger Federer.

Federer is sure to be the top seed, followed by either former Wimbledon champion Hewitt or Roddick when the All England Club announces its seedings this week.

"Common knowledge is you're going to have to beat the best players somewhere along the way," said Roddick, who barely eked out a victory against the 2.08m Karlovic, the tallest player in tennis.

Roger Federer figured Sunday's final against Australian Open champion Marat Safin would be a lot easier than it turned out to be.

Safin makes no secret of his dislike for grass courts, where he has recorded some terrible results, but he surprised the top-ranked Swiss with one of his best matches ever on the surface in a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 loss.

Federer, who also won the last two tournaments at Halle, captured his 20th straight ATP final and 29th straight match on grass. He will be looking for his third straight title at Wimbledon, which starts June 20.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova completed her Wimbledon warm-up Sunday by defending her DFS Classic title with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro in the final.

The Wimbledon champion didn't serve at her best, struggled to finish points when she advanced and generally battled in the unseasonably cold weather with a lingering thigh strain.

"I will still go to Wimbledon thinking I have played well," Sharapova said. "I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I managed to get through and felt really comfortable as the matches went on."